The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-07-01
FREE TRADES DIRE WORK.

L SoS0e VSbesNs
what An Americas Political Eeoasa;ql
0oW sad Heard Among the Wfssehsd
l Slfk. Wsavers Of London.
The words of Hoods famQ us song
apply with great force to the present
condition of the London silk-weavers
! Work, work. work:
Thy labor never naggs:
And What arc its wages! A bed q straw,
A crust Of bread and rags
That shattered roof and this naked door.
A table: . broken chair:
And . wall so blank, my shadow thank
For sometimes falling therc.
The Spitalfields and Bethnal Green
silk.weavers were once q numerous,
industrious and prosperous class Of
artisans in the East End of London,
numbering. according to some esti-
mates. 80. 900 persons. The streets in
these localities resounded with the shut
tie and loom. This was when England
was working up annually $4,000, 900
pounds of raw silk. Now the amount
has decreased to 100000 pounds
The estimated number of persons en-
ployed in London has sunk to 5000
Before describe the condition of the
few remaining toilers in these districts
attention is called to recent statement
cabled from London to the American
press:
There Is fearful condition Of distress
among the silk operatives Of London. They
complain that work is virtually at q standstlll,
owing to the competition of foreigners
especially Of the Germans. Their complaint Is
sustained bv official statistics which show that
within the past twenty-five years the number
OF operatives has decreased from $1,000 to !, 90.
The collapse of the trade is represented to be
only question OF u few years. unless the Gov
eminent comes to the rescue by laying q duty
on manufactured imports. A series Of meet
ings to urge this action is being organized, and
several leading Tories have promised to assist
the movement.
The publica ton of the above facts
was instrumental in calling attention
to the once prosperous industry. and !
decided to investigate the matter for
myself when opportunity afforded.
The silk industry of Spitalfields had its
origin several centuries ago when the
Flemish. driven by persecution from
the continent sought refuge in this
part of London. Here they increased,
multiplied and fourished, and at one
time were important factors in the
body polite Of the kingdom. Less
than a century ago we read Of body
of Spitalfields silk weavers. $4,000
strong. marching to Westminster and
petitioning Parliament.
The locality in which the weavers re-
sided bears the impress of its once in
dustrious inhabitants in the peculiar
ity of the houses. These were three
and four stories high and built with
long windows, in some cases running
almost the entire width of the house.
A few of them are occupied now by
weavers, but majority have been
turned into desolate and wretched
lodging-hOuses. where human beings
hu,ldle five and six in room. In olden
times, when the weavers were pros.
porous, their homes presented a bright
and cheerful appearance. The large
windows admitted plenty of light, and
all the sunshine that comes to the Lon.
doner. Beneath the windows hung
numerous bird-cages, for the Spital-
fields weaver was an expert at teach
ing birds to sing. while the insides
were often beautified by plants and
climbing vines. The effect on a warm,
sunny day was not unpleasing with
the singing of the birds, the agreeable
odor from the plants and the clatter OF
the looms as inch by inch the hand.
some silk, or beautiful velvet devel.
oped under the magic touch Of those
long. white. bony hands. With fair
weeks earnings the lot of the London
weaver was not bad one. His hours
were long and his work tedious, but
his home had in it the elements OF
cheerfulness. The gay carOling of the
birds. The bright coloring of the
flowers. The verdancy of the cluster
ing vines and the simmer and glow
of the rich fabrics left an impression
on the mind pleasant to recall, but i'm
possible to renew.
The birds, the vines, and the few
ers have vanished and with them the
hands that loved to tend them. The
few that are left labor in surroundings
as much calculated to depress as those
have just pictured were to cheer.
The little diamond quarrals Of the
wide windows have no green and are
no longer enlivened with the songs of
birds Coated with sooty dust, patched
with brown paper and stuffed with
rags, they resemble the other houses
wherein the London poor live. The
narrow, steep staircase, once industri-
ously scrubbed, reek with accumulated
filth and are becoming rotten with age
and neglect
With some trouble I found an old
time weaver who. with his son, had
for forty years carried on the business
at No. 5 Hare's Court, Hare's Road,
Bethnal Green. The ascent to his
workshop. which was also used as q
bedroom. was steep and through a
Shiny. filthy court Explaining my err
rand, the old weaver became as polite
and communicative Is possible. He
even sat at the loom to better enable
the artist to sketch it In . simple and
pathetic manner the old man told me
the history of the trade. He had seen